Experiences shared by
(1) Pradeep Unni &
(2) Ganesh
Kovid or Covid - The Right Path by Guru – by Pradeep Unni, Dubai (U.A.E)
Doom or Rise; Choice is Yours! – by Ganesh, Dubai (U.A.E)
(1) Kovid or Covid - The Right Path by Guru
Hari Aum!
Pranaam to Maaji
It’s the best feeling ever! No devotee can ever ask anything more than receiving the blessing of our revered Guru on the Guru Purnima.
Firstly I would like to thank Manish Ji for organizing and giving us an opportunity for all of us to hear Maaji on such an auspicious occasion. Manish Ji started the prayers with an offering to Maaji, the chanting of Shiv Shadaakshar Stotram
by devotes of Maaji. It was so blissful to hear chanting.
We were fortunate to offer our prayers at the lotus feet of Maaji with the chanting of
ध्यानमूलं गुरुर्मूर्तिः
पूजामूलं गुरुर्पदम् ।
मन्त्रमूलं गुरुर्वाक्यं
मोक्षमूलं गुरूर्कृपा ॥
गुरुर्ब्रह्मा गुरुर्विष्णु र्गुरुर्देवो महेश्वरः
गुरु साक्षात परब्रह्मा तस्मै श्रीगुरवे नमः
All our eager minds stood awaiting the grace of Maaji and her blessing!
Maaji gave an option of listening to Covid or Kovid? And the choice was obviously to hear about Kovid. All our livelihood has been disturbed in multiple ways due to Covid and therefore the only choice is for the later. Maaji mentioned about
three Kovidh that we all must remember at all times
Kovidh 1
Maaji quoted verses from Bhaja Govindam by Sree Adi Shankaracharya as a perfect example of current problems that we all facing.
नलिनीदलगतजलमतितरलम्, तद्वज्जीवितमतिशयचपलम्।
विद्धि व्याध्यभिमानग्रस्तं,लोक
शोकहतं च समस्तम् ॥४॥
Nalinidalagata jalamatitaralam tadvajjivitamatisaya-chapalam,
viddhi vyadhyabhimanagrastam lokam sokahatam ca samastam. – 4
Bhajagovindam Bhajagovindam Govindam Bhaja Moodhamate
To my understanding, the verse explains that that this world is transient and do not get attached to it. At any point of time, the great Lord of death Sree Yama can come or Lord Vishnu can come to take us to Paramdham. Life is as unsteady
and unpredictable as the small drops of water, which rests on the lotus leaf. The key point to note is that these drops of water do not touch the leaf itself.
Kovidh 2
The second verse that Maaji remainded was from Sree Hanuman Chalisa
यम कुबेर दिगपाल जहाँते ।
कवि कोविद कहि सकैं कहाँते ॥
Yam Kuber Digapaal Jahaate |
Kavi Kovid Kahi Sakai Kahaate ||
तुम उपकार सुग्रीवहिं कीन्हा ।
राम मिलाय राजपद दीन्हा ॥
Tum Upakaar Sugriivahi Kiinhaa |
Raam Milaay Raajapad Diinhaa ||
All the learned and realized souls are known as Kovid and with this understanding we must all understand how to deal with the crisis of life. We all should learn from none other than Sree Hanuman Ji himself about how to be devoted and dedicated
to the Supreme Reality rather than the false material world. Thus we must all remember the positive side of this word and be connected to the Supreme always and be devoted to the Guru Parampara.
Kovidh 3
Maaji then quoted the verse from Sreemad Bhagawad Geeta (Chapter 3 Verse 38)
धूमेनाव्रियते वह्निर्यथादर्शो मलेन च |
यथोल्बेनावृतो गर्भस्तथा तेनेदमावृतम् || 38||
dhūmenāvriyate vahnir yathādarśho malena cha
yatholbenāvṛito garbhas tathā tenedam āvṛitam
The body is conditioned by the worldly physical attachments like the embryo in the womb and the mind is covered by dust of six obstacles namely kaam, krodh, lobh, moh, madha and ahankar. This is just like the mirror covered with dust and the
intelligence is swinging between the knowledge and ignorance. It is the Guru alone who can remove the Maya (the disturbance of projection) and the veil of ignorance thrust by Maya on our real self.
From Sree Bhagawad Geeta, we must learn how to face the challenges of life as and when they come and understand the Ultimate Bliss as we are all Ananda Swaroopa and for that we must take the refuge Sree Guru Parampara.
Gurudev’s message for the day was also apt in line with thoughts of True Knowledge & Ignorance that Maaji explained.
True Knowledge enables a man to realize that he is a Soul with a body. Now, in his ignorance, he thinks that he is a body with a Soul – Quote by Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda ji
Today being Vyaasa Purnima, we are gifted with a treasure of Vedas and it will wrong not to dwell into this world of Ultimate Knowledge. We must all therefore be united with the Guru Parampara to be aligned with the Ultimate Truth. A Guru
alone can show us the right path.
I pray to our Guru Maa to bless us all to be aligned with Guru Parampara and be connected always to the Supreme divinity.
Vande Guru Parampara
Submission to the lotus feet of Maaji
Pradeep Unni
Dubai ( U.A.E)
(2) Doom or Rise; Choice is Yours!
Hari Aum and Salutations to Her Holiness Maa Purnananda ji!
What a wonderful way to start the day, listening to Maa ji's message to all of us on the auspicious occasion of Sree Guru Purnima!
It was a delight to connect with over 80 devotees from the Satyavrat family, albeit in the virtual space. Dhanyavad Manishji for organizing the virtual meet.
We are indeed eternally indebted to the Guru Parampara for the illuminating light of knowledge and wisdom that we receive in abundance from them. I was awestruck that in a span of less than 15 minutes, Maa ji gave us three important messages
from the scriptures to delve deep into - from Sree Adi Shankaracharya's Bhaja Govindam to Goswami Tulsidas Maharaj's Hanuman Chalisa to Sreemad Bhagawad Geeta, connecting us to the present challenging situation that we are all going through.
While referring to the verse, “naḻinī daḻagata jalamati taraḻaṃ” from Bhaja Govindaṃ, Maaji reiterated the unsteady and transient nature of our life. Jagadguru says the entire world is devoured by disease, pride and grief and that our life
is as unsteady and unpredictable as the trembling droplet of water that rests on a lotus leaf. Maaji pointed out that we just do not know what the next moment is going to bring and that, this life is only transient.
I could especially relate to the part where Maaji was talking about the two Covids. There is one Covid, which is the disease, which has had a devastating impact on the world at large, and the other Kovid, which refers to the Enlightened Wise
men, who are guiding us from the abyss of darkness to the effulgent light, from within. I experienced both Covid and Kovid. I had tested positive for Covid a month ago, and remained unwell for the next three weeks. Earlier, when I got
the call that I had tested positive, the doctor expressed his surprise at the way I reacted to the news calmly, without any panic. During the period that I was unwell, including the days I was in the hospital, it was our scriptures, guidance
from the Guru Parampara and blessings from Maa ji that helped me deal with it with a practical outlook. I remembered one of Maaji's discourses in Dubai, when she was talking about Bhagawan Sree Ramana Maharshi and how he dealt with his
major illness. He told his concerned devotees that only the body was suffering, and not Him. When such a great Saint has demonstrated this attitude towards suffering, who am I, a mere mortal, to complain about the pain and fatigue that
my body had to undergo for a few weeks? I am forever grateful to my parents for initiating me into this spiritual path and to the compassionate Guru Parampara for embracing and accepting me as a seeker, along with my flaws and inadequacies,
and guiding me in this journey. If we are not even attempting to practise what our wise and compassionate 'Kovid' - the Great Masters like Gurudev and Maaji - have been teaching us, what is the point of calling ourselves 'seekers'?
The third reference in today's talk comes from Chapter 3.38 of Sreemad Bhagawad Geeta, where The Supreme Lord points out that this Knowledge of the Self lies hidden within us, being covered by our passion and desire. As seekers, only with
our self efforts along with the Grace of our Guru can the six obstacles go away and the True Knowledge will get revealed.
On this auspicious occasion of Guru Purnima, my prostrations once again at the lotus feet of Maa and the Guru Parampara!
Ganesh (Neelakantan Vaidyanatha)
Dubai (U.A.E)